


Telling Milly

by ReleasingmyInsanity



Category: The Monkees (TV)
Genre: Episode: s01e27 Monkee Mother, Established Relationship, Families of Choice, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Queerplatonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 23:36:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19451824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReleasingmyInsanity/pseuds/ReleasingmyInsanity
Summary: Milly inquires into the Monkees' relationship. They tell her the truth.





	Telling Milly

“Can I talk to you boys?” Milly asked one morning.

The Monkees nodded, setting down their respective projects to come and see what she wanted. They really were good boys, and Milly wanted nothing more than for them to be happy. This was why she needed to talk to them. She had to know if she was standing in the way of their happiness.

“You boys seem to be a lot closer than just friends,” Milly began.

The four of them nodded, confirming that this was true.

“I’ve noticed how often you cuddle, and that you call each other ‘babe.’ I’ve even seen you kiss once or twice. And I don’t want to get in the way of anything. If the four of you need private time once in a while, I can make myself scarce.”

The boys blushed as if on cue. “No, no. Milly, it’s not like that. We’re not uh…. Well, we are, but not the way you think. It’s…..” The four of them tripped over the their words and talked over each other in their attempts to change Milly’s perception of their relationship.

“Okay boys, okay.” Milly said gently. “Why don’t you sit down and tell me calmly.”

The Monkees sat down on the couch across from Milly, not sprawled across each other as they often did, but still close enough that their shoulders brushed. Milly pulled one of the chairs over and sat down as well.

“I believe you,” Milly said. “But I’ve never seen just friends who cuddle and kiss the way you boys do, and I’ve seen a lot. It’s okay with me if you prefer men to women. I used to be friends with quite a few people who liked their own gender.”

“Milly, we’re not gay,” Micky said.

“Yeah, we like girls,” Peter added.

Mike and Davy nodded in agreement.

“So, what are you then? Bisexual?” She asked.

“No.” Mike began. “Well, actually that’s possible,” he allowed.

“Yeah, like ‘e said. It’s possible,” Davy cut in. “But that doesn’t really have anything to do with our relationship.”

“All right. I’m not judging, I just want to understand.” Milly waited while the Monkees gathered their thoughts, amused that they seemed to be having an entire conversation just by nodding to each other.

“We love each other,” Peter blurted before the others seemed ready to answer her question.

Milly smiled. That had been obvious from the first few minutes after she moved in. Her boys clearly adored each other. At first she had assumed it to be the love of brothers, but had quickly realized that it ran deeper than that. Her suspicions had been confirmed when she found the four of them sitting on Micky’s bed, snuggled together, and trading gentle kisses.

She knew they loved each other, but what she still didn’t understand was how.

“What Peter means,” Micky said. “Is that we love each other, but not romantically.”

Peter nodded. Looking pleased that Micky understood what he had been trying to say.

“It’s uh, well it’s complicated.” Mike said. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”

“It makes sense to us,” Davy said. “But we’ve never been asked about it before.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable,” Milly assured them.

“No. We want to tell you.” Micky reassured her.

Milly looked to the other boys for confirmation and they all nodded their agreement.

“In that case, why don’t you start by explaining what you meant by not loving each other romantically. I don’t know how your relationship can not be romantic but still include kissing.”

“That’s where the hard to explain part comes in,” Peter said. “It’s something of a level above platonic, but not quite the same as romantic.”

“In a lot of ways our relationship _is_ very similar to a romantic one,” Davy allowed. “I mean, we do kiss, and cuddle, and call each other ‘babe.’ But like Peter said, it still isn’t quite romantic.”

“It’s like this,” Micky said. “The most important relationship any of us have is the one with each other. We understand each other, and there’s a closeness that we just don’t have with other people. Even with girls that we date.”

Mike nodded. “It’s just that our closeness also includes a level of physical contact.”

“And girls?” Milly asked.

“We still all like girls, and we still date girls. But we always come home to each other.” Mike smiled affectionately at the other three.

“We aren’t a second choice either,” Davy said. “Not one of us.”

Peter set his hand over Davy’s, where it was quickly joined by Mike and Micky’s hands as well.

“We’re a band,” Peter said. “And we love being a band, but if we ever stopped being a band, we would still be together.”

“It’s not about the band.” Micky said softly, resting his head on Peter’s shoulder. “It’s about each other.”

Milly gave them an affectionate smile. “I can see that. Thank you for telling me, boys.” And with that, she got up from her chair to go and do the shopping, leaving the four of them to love each other.

That evening Milly couldn’t help but smile at the sight before her. The boys were all resting on the couch snuggled together watching the television. Mike sat in the middle with one arm around Micky and the other around Peter and Davy. Micky rested his head against Mike’s and reached out with one hand to run his fingers though Peter’s hair. Peter leaned into Mike with Davy tucked up against his side. Davy’s hand rested on Micky’s knee.

Milly watched them softly for a moment before returning to her knitting. Her boys were happy and she was content.

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Micky, Mike, Davy, Peter, and their Monkee Mother, Rose Marie.
> 
> I feel like at least once when Milly get on their nerves a bit, they’ve joked that they should have just let her think they needed “private time” so she’d give them a break.
> 
> About Milly knowing people who like the same gender. If we assume she’s around the same age as Rose Marie, she was in her 20s during WWII. And quite possibly knew WACS and WAVES. Many of whom were lesbians.
> 
> The term Queerplatonic didn’t really exist yet, which is why it’s never used. When they DO finally learn the term many years later, they’re excited to find something that fits.
> 
> Milly might bother them some, but the episode makes it very clear that even though they wish she would calm down, they love her.
> 
> Honestly, the boys probably are bi, especially Micky. But as Davy said, it's not important to their relationship WHAT their orientations are. The important thing is that they love each other.


End file.
